Re: [AMC-list] amc 'stuff that didn't work' (was: mel gibson's gremlin) long!

["Eddie Stakes" <eddiestakes@xxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxx>]

Speaking on what you mention below......the city of Houston offers only one parade prmit on certain day, there are two fighting parade groups that 'honor' Martin Luther King. They steal each others bands, sponsors, and supporters year after year, and of course due to the fighting between two groups that are 'supposed' to honor King, few people attend, you can look at the clips on tv and there is more police standing atound watching floats and bands than attendees. So I see your point below. Unfortunately nothing has changed out there in amc world thru the decades, I remember joining AMC Squirrel Clubs, AMO and NAMDRA back in 1980s and was mud tossing, name calling, animosity, trying to steal each others members, vendors and what not. Some of it is about money, sometimes prestige, other times bragging rights I guess. 

There is a good side to AMC out there you know, individuals who make a difference and drive their cars, race, show, and sometimes help out another AMCer in need, those are the real people who keep hobby alive and going thankfully.  

Side issue is few people gave a crap about the Kenosha Transportation museum, except I guess AMC, Rambler and Nash people, politicians and people who could have made a difference sort of said 'eh ok, we will help' and while it got built, was about as big as 7-11 and didn't get the big money to make large site. Even Kenoshans I still communicate with tell me that Kenosha is nothing more than suburb of Milwaukee or Chicago, the new money in there only care about how close Starbucks is and when next race is at dog track, not concerned with Kenosha history like AMC or Snap On. You can buy some neat little Nash and Rambler things from Kenosha History Center

http://www.kenoshahistorycenter.org/FORMgallery1.htm

However a few years ago it was mentioned they might build a Wisconsin Civil War museum and politicians came out of all the rocks to support it, pork flying everywhere! No shoratge of $$$ there. I don't believe the Kenosha Transportation Museum even got built, I know it was supposed to be located in a old water treatment plant (thanks, I love sewers) but don't think it opened but may be wrong. However you can go look at Islam curtural stuff:

http://www.kenosha.org/museum/

let me travel 1000 miles for that. Speaking of car clubs, there used to be several Corvette car clubs here in 1980s/90s, they didn't like each other and never co hosted meets, or attended each others events, so not unique to AMC......


Eddie Stakes
713.464.8825
eddiestakes@xxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxx
www.planethoustonamx.com

  ----- Original Message ----- 
  From: Terry Atkins 
  To: BaadAssGremlins@xxxxxxxxxxxxxxx 
  Sent: Sunday, July 25, 2010 5:11 PM
  Subject: Re: [BaadAssGremlins] Re: amc 'stuff that didn't work' (was: mel gibson's gremlin) long!




        It is not only AMC Eddie it is everything. In the Louisville area we have a populations of less than a million people. We have two Mustang clubs, three Corvette clubs. One of the largest clubs in the city that had been together over twenty years broke up do to infighting. One club broke up into two different clubs do to fighting who controlled the sound equipment. We even had a chapter of AMO here at one time but it is long gone. It is not only car clubs I have found in my life time that the biggest fights are in churches. That is why I don't belong to any of them except AMO and I really don't count that. I have enough crap in my life that I have to put up with I don't want to join something to get more crap.
        Terry

       

  From: Eddie Stakes <eddiestakes@xxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxx>
  Subject: [BaadAssGremlins] Re: amc 'stuff that didn't work' (was: mel gibson's gremlin) long!
  To: BaadAssGremlins@xxxxxxxxxxxxxxx
  Date: Sunday, July 25, 2010, 3:43 PM

  It sort of fell off map like many AMC "big" ideas out there. The AMC landscape is littered with good ideas you know: AMC Unity Council, AMC Council of Clubs, AMC Magazine (this one baffled me and still does, the guy spent $10,000 of his own money to do glossy magazine, everyone said 'oooh, count me in' or 'sign me up!' and few did, then he had display at biggest AMC event in history in Kenosha, he needed to sign up 250 subscribers to make magazine float. He had magazines laying out, people walk by booth, pick one up and when he would say $2, they gently put it back down in ultimate fit of Rambler Mentality, needless to say guy went back to NY, closed up shop and took major loss.) Yikes. Don't forget a 'All AMC Meet' with all the clubs co-operating together on same field, this was tried a few times, but ended up being like little roped off areas, so had to choose your legion to Zod with who you went with, so if you went with one club to have your car
   judged, you pissed off other clubs for instance. Sort of like having different restrooms for different peoples in 1940s/50s, everyone has same color doo but have to go to different room. It was like this unfortunately and created some ill will at what was supposed to be largest AMC get together in history. 
   
  A case could be made for Mitchell's old AMCWC, at one time really big before imploded due to all the darned vendors, businesses, chapters and individuals leaving, so guess that falls into 'amc stuff that didn't work' class. Or failures. Or going to the dark side without light sabre, there is whole file on my site dedicated to that cesspool failing:
   
  http://www.planetho ustonamx. com/stuff/ good_riddance_ amcwc.htm
   
  I'm sure some old soviet toothless ladies in Siberia are having fond memories about Stalin too. Oh, he was dreamy with that big mustache.... ..sure he only killed 20 million people but he looked so nice in that overcoat!
   
  http://wiki. answers.com/ Q/How_many_ people_did_ Stalin_kill
   
  The amxfiles is another case in point, at one time was the place to be on internet, occasional few wars but nothing that could not be solved. No longer there, buy owner Jim Stone sold his AMX and moved on. The site is still up, but most of the stuff on it consists of abandoned files with dead AMCers on it. Created in 1996, died in early 2000's finally domain name expired in 2009 so gone too. Go google it and leachers will direct you to their site, nothing to do with AMC just create traffic.
   
  The original amc forum also had problems with someone threatening to sue the forum owner, so he shut it down, there is file somewhere on my site about that debacle. The scab, 'new' theamcfoolum. com site no one goes to, (one guy on Car Craft was gloating he signed up 140 times at college computers, I guess that is like voting for your favorite MLB All Star when they want you to plug ballot box!) and Fran's site changed names but still comes up amcforum so confusing to say least. 
   
  I could go on here, as it is hot outside, so decided to try to answer a few emails. The last I heard it was shipped back to MA where it originated from You know, the original intention was to have it done and ready by 2001. Sometimes we are rambler slow, sometimes rambler slow without rims and tires. But a number of people donated things, and along the way, many places did great job on it, as the donated car ended up being a turd to begin with (rough car with frame/unibody damage if I recall) so tons more work needed to bring it back to life. I think the original intention (gee was it really a decade ago?) was to have different chapters take the vehicle, and do work to it, might be big job, or small job, as long as people contributed.
   
  The problem with that was it bacame a 'rolling pick a part' and all sorts of rare parts suddenly disappeared. The new in box mufflers, nice tail light lenses and housings I donated never made it to different city for instance. I did later sell them a set of new ram air trim, but donated $200-$300 more new parts about 4-5 years ago, no telling if that stuff was used or ended up on someone elses' car or ebay, craigslist though. Frank Swygert of AIM magazine tried to co-ordinate efforts but people got pissed off at him thinking he was either taking over the project or profiting from it, whihc I believe was neither. The backlash from that was no one wanted to get involved with it anymore! It ended up in Kenosha, but no clubs would take it, sort of 'who needs the bullshit' associated with it if they had it too long, or something came up missing, or didn't tweet updates daily like damned corpse flower here!
   
  I think what bothered me personally about this project was two things, one was the lashing Frank took years ago with it from bunch of idiots posting anonymously on the forum of the week site. The bigger thing was that with all these chapters out there......few got involved. The car only been to handful of states
   
  http://www.mattsold cars.com/ charityamx/ map.html
   
  I would have though that people would have jumped at the chance to help on this project. At one point I believe the car almost got 'evicted' from a shop as was taking up valuable space the shop could have used to actually make money with customers. If not for making stops in Houston at the aMO nationals in 2001, then onto San Antonio where the Alamo AMC club did great job getting it running. 
  Will always remember the enthusiasm and smiles when it was driven off the trailer at the 2002 AMC SW Regional. Update! Can add Alamo AMC to 'stuff that didn't work' as the whole club cratered several years ago. Now AJ is trying to resurrect it, and I wish him success. Update! Hell, the big, successful AMC SW Regional meet cratered after I quit sponsoring it and severed ties with local aMC chapter after the national here! Google 'amc assholes' and well, even if you in Nepal or Tasmania or hiding in rabbit hole in Fallauja, Iraq can read about it. Too bad on all fronts.
   
  I don't think that this old 'charity amx' falls into the 'amc stuff that didn't work' class though. It's still out there, but has long since fallen off anyone's radar for a variety of reasons. Maybe when finished in Y3K great, great grandkids will say 'I remember that in Y2K' perhaps. Like seeing those heads in jars of Nixon and celebrities on Futurama.
   
  Anyways, if anyone still reading, here is link
   
  http://www.mattsold cars.com/ charityamx/ index.html
   
   
  Eddie Stakes
  713.464.8825
  eddiestakes@ planethoustonamx .com
  www.planethoustonamx.com




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